By Mary Faulds, AFA Journal staff writer
January 2010 – The year 2009 was filled with downsizing, layoffs, and plant closures. Unemployment is now at its highest rate in over 25 years. Despite President Barack Obama’s stimulus package, many are without work, and the search for gainful employment seems to be long and difficult.
Not surprisingly, churches are finding more unemployed congregants among their numbers. Others are underemployed, meaning the jobs they do have aren’t quite enough to cover expenses. At the same time, they are dealing with the stresses of finding a better job and many have looked to local churches for help and support.
Church pantries and secondhand stores are a few ways churches reach out to the needy. Sometimes, though, the needs are more specific. This is where a few churches have stepped up to the plate and started unemployment support groups. Here, attendees can get help dusting off their résumés and polishing their interview skills.
Three groups have started such ministries to tend to the needs of the unemployed in their area. Two churches, Parkview Christian Church in Findlay, Ohio, and Addisville Reformed Church in Richboro, Pennsylvania, have started groups within the past year. A third organization, Christian Employment Resource, has been serving the unemployed for decades.
Both of the church groups were started by members very familiar with job loss. Chuck Kirkman from Addisville said one day in September 2008 he was laid off with no advance warning.
“There was no fanfare,” said Kirkman, “just ‘here’s your severance package and there’s the door.’ I found myself at a loss of what to do first. Do I file unemployment? What about insurance? How will I tell my wife and kids? etc. Around the end of November a friend from another church contacted me and we decided to have breakfast. After trading the usual pleasantries about not wanting to keep the other away from work too long, we met only to find out that both of us had lost our jobs. Through the course of our conversation came the birth of the support group.”
They named their support group Between Doors. Kirkman explained that it came from the familiar saying “When one door closes, another one opens.” He said those looking for work are just looking for that next open door.
Tracy Schumann, the coordinator of the support group in Ohio, said Parkview Christian’s group was born out of his personal prayer time.
“I went through a 4-month job search after being in the same job for 14 years,” said Schumann, “so I have a sense of empathy for people seeking employment. I sensed a leading to offer such a ministry.
“Later as I drove to the office, the complete outline for our format tumbled out of my head.”
The third organization, Christian Employment Resource, started out much like the church groups because, initially, it was a church group. In the mid 1980s, a group of career counselors in southern California, including Jeff Farmer, saw a need. Very few churches in their area had anything to help those without jobs, and if they did, it was very outdated. “It was a ‘see if you can go out and find something,’” Farmer said. “There was no strength, there was no armor, there was no ‘understand the Lord that you have and understand how He can assist you in what your purpose is here.’”
Soon, he and the others began counseling a few members of churches in their area, and that attracted others through word of mouth.
“We found out there was a big undercurrent of people not only being unemployed,” explained Farmer, “but a lot of career dissatisfaction, if you will.” Many were trying to find God’s will in their career direction.
The ministry, which now has no direct association or affiliation with any Christian denomination, started in 1986 and exploded from there. Now Christian Employment Resource has several churches that hold support groups for the unemployed on a regular basis. However, their ministry doesn’t stop in southern California. The ministry expanded with an accompanying Web site, www.Christianemployment.com, in the mid 1990s. They also have kits available to anyone who wants to start a local unemployment support group in a local church.
Farmer said their group is also doing full-day seminars around the country as a reaction to the economic downturn. “We are always adapting our ministry,” he explained.
All three groups, though started separately, have similar formats for the meetings. First, members are challenged to focus on God because, as Schumann said, the unemployed are wounded and vulnerable.
“Unemployment, and the arduous process of job search, attacks the very center of a person,” said Schumann. “Individuals have to rediscover who they are and that they have value. They also have to answer the questions – ‘Does God care?’ and ‘Is He really a very present help in time of trouble?’”
Farmer agreed with Schumann, adding that an unemployed person needs to look past himself. “We do a lot of practical counseling, but we give an empowerment kind of mentality versus ‘Why is this happening to me? Why is the Lord doing this to me?’ We like to say, ‘You are likely being prepared, not punished.’”
Many Christians Farmer has counseled are what he calls “Sunday Christians,” meaning God only matters one day a week. “Usually when I counsel Christians in this area, they’ll say, ‘I don’t want to bother the Lord with this. This is not that important.’” Farmer said they have a perspective problem, so he points them to the Bible.
“Sometimes people whine a lot, and forgive me for saying this, but it needs to be said. I will usually ask them, ‘How long have you been worshiping a weak God?’ I tell them, ‘My God is not like that. I read the manual, and He tells me this is what He has done for me!’”
Farmer said he then tells them to go and read the book of Job, but he pronounces it rhyming with Bob. “I tell them they’ll see how Job lost his job, and then he was ridiculed by his friends. Even his wife told him something wonderful – and I say that sarcastically. Then he eventually won a new job, and it got even better!”
Those Sunday Christians will open the Bible, which Farmer says they rarely read, see the book of Job, and be surprised. “There really is a book named Job (rhymes with Bob) in here!” they say. Farmer said he then explains that that is how important one’s employment is, but of even greater importance is the Source of strength in which to do the job at hand, that is, finding a job.
Once those deeper issues are dealt with, many of the meetings are very practical in nature. The members work on their résumés with the help of coaches that are brought in. They network, learn how to really search for a job using all available resources, and practice their job interviewing skills.
Farmer said the Christian Employment Resource kits offer a lot of how-to information so that the requesting church can cater to the specific needs of their members.
“We give a lot of relevant materials that they can actually use because a lot of people who want to start support groups in their churches do not have a professional background or a counseling background,” he said.
Kirkman said many other issues are covered in their meetings as well, like filing for unemployment and finding health care coverage. “We also just finished a four-week series titled Moving Ahead After Losing Your Job, that was led by a psychologist,” he said. “We have a financial series planned to help members manage their money and not get into financial trouble and damage their credit.”
Kirkman said he has seen a change in his congregation since the unemployment support group started. “There has been a real growth in openness shared by the congregation members,” he said. “Being unemployed isn’t the first thing you want to tell people, but it’s the first thing you need to let other people know when you’re looking for work. Another change has been the way people care for one another. People cared before, but now it’s a much deeper level of caring and sharing.”
Schumann, though his group is much newer and smaller, showed the same enthusiasm for the support group. He said he hopes that members of his group will go out and start groups of their own in their churches or circle of friends.
For Farmer, the greatest satisfaction is helping an unemployed person see that God is directing his path. “You can see the hope come back into their eyes,” he said. 
Christian Employment Resource offers kits for those who would like to start an unemployment support group at their church. It also counsels anyone in any field who needs help finding employment.
Those interested can either e-mail support@christianemployment.com or call 310-374-0701. Please leave a message. Your call will be returned within 24 hours.
People looking for a local group can call local churches or do a Web search for “unemployment support group” or “job transition group.”
